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Piaras Feiritéar
Piaras Feiritéar (?1600-1653) was an Irish poet and harpist, who wrote in the Irish language. Life Feiritéar was a Norman-Irish lord of Baile an Fheirtéaraigh in Corca Dhuibhne. Although best known as a poet, it was his role as a leader of the nascent Catholic Irish community of Norman- and Gaelic- Irish origin which ultimately lead to his execution in 1653. A leader during the Confederate Ireland wars, Feiritéar was wounded during an attack on Tralee Castle in 1641. His forces held the castle until the fall of Ross Castle in Killarney to the Cromwellians in June 1653. Granted safe passage by Cromwellian commander Brigadier Nelson, Feiritéar travelled to arrange surrender terms. However, he was seized at Castlemaine and hanged alongside others, including his brother-in-law the Dominican priest Tadhg Ó Muircheartaigh on Cnocán na gCaorach in Killarney on 15 October 1653.Piaras Feiritéar, Ainm.ie Writing As a poet, Feirtéar used both syllabic and accentual amhrán meter. His love poetry draws on the courtly love traditions of Europe.Piaras Feiritéar (c. 1582—1652), Concise Oxford Companion to Irish Literature, Oxford Reference. Oxford Index, Web, Sep. 10, 2018. A harpist as well as a poet, he was known for his blend of laments, eulogies and satires of the Irish tradition with the love-lyrics of European influence.Colum, Pádraic. A Treasury of Irish Folklore. Kilkenny Press, New York, 1989. His best known work, Leig díot t’airm, a mhacoimh mná aside thy arms, maiden, is a poem about a beautiful woman. It is believed that he may have written poetry in English, but none of this has survived. Some critics have argued that his Irish poetry shows the influence of the English Elizabethans. In 1934, Pádraig Ó Duinnín edited a book entitled Dánta Phiarais Feiritéir: maille le réamh-rádh agus nótaí which contained 23 of Piaras's surviving poems. In the book, Ó Duinnín devotes a chapter to the influence of Feiritéar's poetry and life on the folklore of Corca Dhuibhne. Recognition Feiritéar remains something of a folk hero for the Irish-speaking people of Corca Dhuibhne, and particularly in his native Ard na Caithne where the ruins of his castle can still be seen, and his poetry lives on in the oral tradition.Piaras Feiritéar, Ainm.ie There is a memorial to Feiritéar in Muckross Abbey in Killarney, co. Kerry, alongside 3 other Kerry poets from the Early Modern period. A monument of a 'spéirbhean' (beautiful woman, who symbolised Ireland) with the names of all 4 poets carved into it can be seen in Killarney town itself. In popular culture In 2001, poet Máire Mhac an tSaoi published an award-winning novel, A Bhean Óg Ón..., about the relationship between Piaras and Meg Russell, for whom he wrote much of his love poetry. In The Western Island, Robin Flower relates a story told to him by Tomás Ó Criomhthain in which he claimed that Piaras had a castle on Great Blasket Island that he used to evade the authorities. See also *List of Irish poets References * Musical instruments in Ireland 9th 14th centuries: A review of the organological evidence, Ann Buckley, pp. 13–57, Irish Musical Studies i, Blackrock, County Dublin, 1990 * Music and musicians in medieval Irish society, Ann Buckley, pp. 165–190, Early Music xxviii, no.2, May 2000 * Music in Prehistoric and Medieval Ireland, Ann Buckley, pp. 744–813, in A New History of Ireland, volume one, Oxford, 2005 Notes External links * http://digital.nls.uk/early-gaelic-book-collections/pageturner.cfm?id=76714042&mode=transcription See also *Aogán Ó Rathaille *Dáibhí Ó Bruadair *Cathal Buí Mac Giolla Ghunna *Peadar Ó Doirnín *Séamas Dall Mac Cuarta *Art Mac Cumhaigh *Seán Clárach Mac Domhnaill *Eoghan Rua Ó Súilleabháin Category:1600 births Category:1653 deaths Category:Irish Gaelic poets Category:Irish harpists Category:People from County Kerry Category:Executed Irish people Category:Irish soldiers in the Irish Confederate Wars Category:17th-century Irish people Category:17th-century Irish musicians Category:17th-century Irish poets Category:Irish-language writers Category:World poetry Category:17th-century poets Category:Irish-language poets Category:Irish poets Category:Poets Category:Poets executed